Taking advantage of the opportunities that are available

Apparently, it hasn't been decided if the Astros (36-53) are sellers yet.

Ed Wade:
"You have to be mindful of the fact that this is the time of year where there are some opportunities that present themselves to change the face of your club and hopefully, in the process, improve your club. You also travel a parallel path that we need to get some guys healthy, get them back on the mound and be prepared to go forward with the group that's here right now. There's no guarantees that the composition of the club changes in any fashion, much less dramatically."

Berkman:
"This is going to be an interesting couple of weeks if you're an Astros fan. Because this is a spot (being sellers ahead of the trading deadline) where we've really never been in before. I'll be interested just like everyone else to see just how the organization goes about it and see what happens."

Wade:
"It wouldn't be first time that this club has bounced back and played very, very well over the second half of the season. And certainly we would hope that would be the case this year as well. We need to be more consistent," Wade said. "We've got elements in play, and the middle of the lineup has a great track record individually and collectively. And I think if they establish that level of consistency that they are capable of, it makes a lot of things good.

"It provides a little bit of breathing room for the pitching staff to go out there and relax a little bit. We can also play better defense. Our defense hasn't been as good this year as it has been in the past."

Call me a fatalist, but I kind of hope the Astros don't go on one of their customary runs. It's already a (contention-wise) wasted season, because of the struggles of Berkman and Lee (and xxx and xxx and xxx - I get it). So to go 50-29 from here out, and ruin some other teams' playoff chances would be fun for a while, but would lead to a #14 draft pick, or something like that. And if there's anything you want to get from a losing season, it's tools to rebuild. If the Astros don't take this opportunity to rebuild and add to the minor-league system, then there really must not be any sort of plan in place.